Is the Magistrate Unhappy?

Chen Fugui's vision went black, and he almost fainted.

His fingerprints are definitely on here; there's no way to deny it.

Zhou Wanwan read:

"A set of gold headdress, several silver hairpins and jade bracelets, three thousand taels of silver, thirty bolts of fine silk and satin, and a sandalwood bed inlaid with mother-of-pearl."

A small sandalwood dressing box, a pair of Hotan jade pendants, sixteen sets of brocade quilts and curtains for all four seasons, and one maidservant as part of the dowry.

In addition, there is a small shop facing the street in the south of the city, twenty acres of thin land, along with twenty jars of aged fine wine used in the restaurant and a set of exquisite silver wine utensils as decorations.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Chen Fugui and asked, "How do you plan to compensate me?"

Chen Fugui looked at Cheng Xiao and said:

"Lord Cheng, you can't possibly compensate for so many things in such a short time."

Besides, she used most of the dowry; I didn't use any of hers."

Cheng Xiao coughed and said, "Then let's just pay three thousand taels of silver!"

Chen Fugui almost cried. He had spent 500 taels of silver to bribe officials, but he never expected to end up like this.

Making him pay three thousand taels of silver is practically asking for his life!

Cheng Xiao's expression also turned ugly. Three thousand taels of silver was already the bottom line. If Zhou Wanwan realized what was going on, it wouldn't be as troublesome as just three thousand taels.

Zhou Wanwan didn't refuse Cheng Xiao's request, and said calmly, "Alright! Then let's start with three thousand taels of silver!"

Chen Fugui was crying with snot and tears streaming down his face; this time, he was truly crying.

He looked at Fang Taohua and said:

"Taohua! Three thousand taels of silver! Isn't that going to kill me?"

"For the sake of our past as husband and wife, why don't we just let it go?"

Fang Taohua stood up, looking down at him and said:

"You want me to let it go? Why should I let it go? My son was sent away by you and is being abused by his family every day."

"My daughter is in poor health, and you haven't cared about her at all. Now you're telling me three thousand taels of silver? Forget it, what kind of Spring and Autumn Annals dream are you having?"

Lady Liu was standing nearby, cried and sobbed:

"Sister, you can't blame us for this!"

You're too greedy, hoarding all of your husband's love; there's nothing I can do about it.

How about this? You come back! We'll serve our husband together, shall we?

Chen Fugui's eyes lit up; this was the best path.

Once Fang Taohua returns, won't she be completely at his mercy?

Fang Taohua threw her head back and laughed loudly:

"You two are shameless! Do you think I'd go back?"

"You'll kill them without them even knowing what happened."

Chen Fugui shouted, "That's utter nonsense! Who would kill you?"

Lady Liu gently advised:

"Sister, I would never do such a thing."

If you're willing to come back, I can be your second wife.

Lady Liu is truly capable of enduring anything for those three thousand taels of silver!

Zhou Wanwan looked at Cheng Xiao and said, "Lord Cheng, what do you say?"

Cheng Xiao said loudly:

"If I tell you to give three thousand taels, then give three thousand taels. What are you talking about?"

"If you don't have the money, go and raise it now. Get it together tonight, otherwise I can't protect you."

Chen Fugui led Lady Liu away, limping.

Cheng Xiao shouted, "Court adjourned!"

Startled, Lady Fang asked tremblingly, "Is the magistrate unhappy?"

Zhou Wanwan said loudly, "I don't know if he's happy or not, but I'm not happy. Whoever makes me unhappy, I'll make them even more unhappy."

Cheng Xiao turned around, her face full of smiles. "Happy? How could I not be happy? What a great verdict today! Everyone's happy!"

Zhou Wanwan snorted coldly and left with Lady Fang.

Everyone outside was stunned. "They won? I heard the Lady Fang was almost bullied to death before, but they actually won after hiring such a lowly lawyer?"

"Who exactly is this child? Is she that powerful? If I have a lawsuit, can I have her handle it?"

"Didn't you see how that official looked? He seemed very afraid of her."

Someone mustered up their courage and walked over, looking at Zhou Wanwan and asking, "Young lady, are you taking on a lawsuit?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "I'll take it, as long as they pay."

Someone looked at her and said, "But... but I only have twenty coins. Would you be willing to help me with my lawsuit? I want to sue my neighbor for killing my daughter, sob sob sob..."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the man and asked, "What's your name? What grievance do you have?"

Wang Aniu wiped away his tears and told the whole story:

"My daughter's name is Wang Aniu. She is our only daughter, only six years old. She is very well-behaved and plays right in front of our house. She never goes far away."

That day, my husband and I went to work in the fields. When we got home, we found that our daughter was missing. We searched everywhere but couldn't find her. We asked everyone in the village, but no one had seen her.

They searched for several days, but there was no sign of him, neither alive nor dead.

Later, someone found my daughter's clothes in the neighbor's field.

We rushed to the field and searched carefully, and finally dug up the child's remains...

My beautiful daughter is gone just like that. It must be the neighbor next door who killed her. Otherwise, why would her clothes and remains be found on their land?

I filed a complaint with the county government, but the officials refused to investigate thoroughly or help me. They simply said there was no evidence and accused me of making baseless accusations against my neighbor.

I am utterly desperate. I beg you, young lady, to do me justice and seek justice for my tragically murdered little girl!

Zhou Wanwan weighed the twenty coins in her hand and said, "Since you've taken the money, I'll definitely help you find out the truth about this matter. Now, take me back to your village!"

Zhou Wanwan led four constables directly to Wang Aniu's village.

This village is called Apricot Blossom Village. As soon as you enter the village, you will find apricot trees everywhere.

She couldn't help but remark, "Your village has quite a lot of apricot blossoms."

Wang Aniu nodded and said, "Our village is called Apricot Blossom Village, and its most famous product is Xinghua wine, which is renowned far and wide."

Zhou Wanwan suddenly felt like reciting a poem. "May I ask where the tavern is? A shepherd boy points to Apricot Blossom Village in the distance."

The bailiff beside her flattered, "Miss Zhou, your writing is truly remarkable! I admire you!"

Zhou Wanwan said modestly, "You flatter me, you flatter me. I've made a fool of myself."

Wang Aniu led them into the courtyard, where he saw an old man coldly looking at him and saying, "Wang Aniu, I asked you to go to the market to buy some wine, why did it take you so long to come back?"

Wang Aniu looked at him and said:

"Dad, this is the lawyer I brought back from the county. He's amazing!"

She plans to help our family file a lawsuit to get justice.

Old Man Wang, with his hands behind his back, said:

"All you do is fool around all day. She was just a little brat, she's dead, so what? Is it really worth going to court?"

Does hiring a lawyer cost money? Where's the twenty coins I just gave you?

Wang Aniu scratched his head and said, "This money has all gone to the lawyer's fees, Dad. As long as we win the case, we'll make the Li Family next door pay us compensation."

Old Man Wang glared at him and said, "You're such a debt collector, all you know is how to spend money."